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looking for shoes in l.a.

Distinguished Member

i spent the day looking for a pair of medium brown shoes, preferably a plain wingtip.

first i went to barneys, then saks, then faconnable, then neiman marcus. they all had the same styles. nothing really spoke to me except for some "calzolaria harris" shoes at barneys. they were too dark though, and at $550, beyond my price limit.

let me say that i've decided i don't like the faux patina or faux antique look. these shoes look cool to me on the internet, but in person the look is cheesy, phony, and the antiquing makes the leather look cheap and usually too shiny. this applies to every brand from prada to john lobb.

i then went to the camper store on robertson, the john varvatos store on melrose, and the ted baker store on robertson. everything was overly stylized. as a side note, while exiting the ted baker store, a family of tourists walked in and mistook me for a store employee. at first i was a bit offended, but then i thought, everyone who works there is young, stylish, and good-looking, so maybe it's not such an insult.

then i tried a store on melrose called "gemelli". i asked the salesman if the shoes were goodyear welted, blake stitched, or what. after examining the shoe for a few seconds, he proclaimed, "it is the best kind of stitching ever."

i went to the paul smith store, also on melrose, and everything was too fashiony. the shoes cost between $380 and $450, and are made in india. the whole store has an 'india as british colony' vibe to it, but with a lot of pink.

Active Member

hilarious--I did the same thing on monday---and I was shocked, shocked at the lack of variety at Barney's--and especially Neiman's. Barney's LA really trimmed back---I got beautiful fenstrier dress shoes from them years ago. Now they lost their shirt--and their shirts.

Distinguished Member

as a side note, while exiting the ted baker store, a family of tourists walked in and mistook me for a store employee. at first i was a bit offended, but then i thought, everyone who works there is young, stylish, and good-looking, so maybe it's not such an insult.

This happens to me every time I go into a store. Furthermore I know why if you are even in the slightest bit well dressed and if your are wearing a jacket then you are too well dressed to be anyone other than someone in dress code. I even once proclaimed to an African family "You see a well dressed white man in a store and you immediately think he works there"

HALF LINED SPECKLED LIKE A GOD DAMNED HEN IN LUSH BROWN ~*~100% AUTHENTIC~*~ REAL WOOL! ALL OF THIS FOR ONLY $100 TURN YOUR USELESS PAPER INTO A JACKET

Distinguished Member

Good one. That would explain the footwear wasteland that is L.A.
actually, l.a. is a great shoe shopping city, if you're into really expensive sneakers. also, there are plenty of quality shoes around, just nothing that struck my fancy in terms of looks. much of what i saw was bland to me, but would be the delight of most on this forum. (the guys who like allen edmonds). the rest would be more appreciated by the streetwear crowd. i guess i'm somewhere in between.

Member

Right on about the sneakers, there is no where better than LA for "exclusive" sneakers.

However, as far as I can tell, only RL on Rodeo (RLPL/EG & CJ) & Carroll & Co (Alden) sell any selection of high end dress shoes. Barney's sells Prada, Ferragamo & Harris, with one or two Crockett & Jones-the suede you mentioned ($650) & a boot. These (along with the suits) are primarily sold to tourists visiting from out of town or to studios for productions.

Like a lot of dress clothing, it appears that the market is too small in LA to support smaller brands. The market seems to say that if you want them, you can afford to (and regularly do) travel to NY, London or Tokyo.

Distinguished Member

Don't forget the Lattanzis in the Brioni boutique on Rodeo. Hilary from EG was just at the BH Ralph Lauren training them on how to fit EG shoes, so perhaps a larger selection of EGs may be available there now.

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